1. Technical Field
The present invention is related generally to wireless access to information, and more particularly, to wireless cell phone access to a directory of services, such as hotel guest services, using shortcut keys on the cell phone.
2. Description of Related Art
The proliferation of the Internet has had many effects. It has led to development of network, communication and data exchange standards. For example, Hypertext Markup Language (“HTML”) and Extensible Markup Language (“XML”) have been widely adopted for data formatting to facilitate information exchange. The HTML 4.01 specification is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/html401/ and is hereby incorporated herein by reference. The XML 1.0 recommendation is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/2004/REC-xml-20040204/ and is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
The proliferation of the Internet has also led to tremendous improvements in communications infrastructure, less expensive communication devices and convergence of voice and data networks. In this regard, Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (“XHTML”) Basic has been widely adopted for wireless device Internet browsers. This XHTML Basic recommendation is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/2004/REC-xml-20040204/ and is hereby incorporated herein by reference. Widely adopted communications protocols for close-range wireless communication in the 2.4 gigahertz industrial, scientific and medical band include Bluetooth and IEEE 802.11. (Bluetooth is a trademark of Telefonaktibolaget.) Bluetooth Core Specification v1.2 is available at https://www.bluetooth.org/spec/ and is hereby incorporated herein by reference. Part 11:Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications ANSI/IEEE Std 802.11, 1999 Edition is available at http://standards.ieee.org/getieee802/download/802.11-1999.pdf and is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
All this has led to an ever increasing array of innovative network applications. According to one report, an integrated voice and data network facilitates premise-based telecommunications with “follow me” links, which enables quick connection to an enterprise telecommunications system for a mobile employee, and even enables downloading of an enterprise telephone profile to a computer/telephone when the employee is at a home office or a hotel room. “Tentative Steps For Convergence,” Business Communications Review, February, 2000, paragraph 7. For years now hotel guests have been able to access a directory of guest services and related information by means of a television in their hotel room connected to the hotel's local area network. It has also been reported that travel industry enterprises have even tried handing out wireless communication devices to cruise ship passengers, so that while passengers are anywhere on board during their voyage they can easily make calls for dinner reservations or to plan excursions. “Travel Industry Cuts The Cord—Wireless Technology Makes It Work Easier For Employees And Boosts Customer Service,” Information Week, Oct. 2, 2000, paragraphs 1-6.
From the above it should be appreciated that there is substantial opportunity and need for additional innovation regarding communications applications, and particularly for those related to services for travelers using wireless communication devices.